


Arc V Ficlet Collection

by Peppermint_YGO (Peppermint_Shamrock)



Series: Peppermint's Ficlet Collections [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Ficlet Collection, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-07 07:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15903552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_YGO
Summary: A collection of fics I originally posted on Tumblr, but felt were too short to post individually.1: Lustershipping. Something Missing. Masumi knows there's something wrong with her deck.2: Genesisshipping (Zarcray). First Meeting. For the first time, Zarc meets someone who can hear monster spirits, like him.3: Entertainmentshipping. Applause. Dennis is given a chance for redemption, and Yuuya convinces him to take it.4: Singleshipping. Sensitive. Yoko and Shuzo deal with the aftermath, trying to look after Yuuya and Yuzu as best they can.5: Astroshipping. Sleep. Selena's nightmares are haunted by the boy she killed.6: Brashshipping. Wartime. Selena and Shingo discuss hiding weakness from the enemy.





	1. Lustershipping: Something Missing

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote and [posted this on Tumblr](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/156913168698/something-missing) after the episodes aired where Zarc was defeated and everyone was sent back to their dimensions - with Yuzu forgotten.

Something was wrong with her deck.

“Did you refine it recently? Get any new cards?”

“No…”

She didn’t know what it was. It was frustrating, being unable to explain just _how_ it was wrong, but knowing that it was. She could go through it over and over, but nothing stood out. It was the same as it always had been…and yet it wasn’t. Normal and Pendulum monsters alike, magic and traps - there was something off about all of it.

“I just don’t see anything wrong with it,” Yaiba said, shrugging.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look any different than normal,” Hokuto said, taking it from Yaiba.

“That’s the problem! I don’t see anything wrong with it, either…but I _feel_ it…I just can’t…put my finger on it,” Masumi said. She had asked her friends to help her, hoping they’d be able to see what she couldn’t, but so far they’d fared no better. “It just doesn’t…feel like me, I guess.”

“Well…I get what you mean, I guess I feel that way about my deck, now that you mention it…but maybe it’s just from staring too long. Things never seem right if you look at them for a long time,” Yaiba said.

“Wait a minute…” Hokuto said, not looking up from Masumi’s deck as he shuffled through it. Masumi and Yaiba looked abruptly at him.

“You found something?”

“Might have,” he said with his usual air of superiority. “You’re a card short.”

Masumi snatched the deck from him, and aggressively counted through it.

“You’re right!” she said, surprised. She wondered how she had missed that before…how long had she been playing that way? “Don’t let it go to your head,” she admonished as she took a look at Hokuto’s smug grin.

“So, you’re missing a card? Have it here, or did you lose it somewhere?” Yaiba asked.

“I…don’t know. I don’t even know what the missing card is.” She started pulling out her extra cards, scattering them all over the floor as she tried each one. None of them sparked anything, none seemed to fit her current deck. She frowned.

“Maybe you lost it?” Yaiba suggested again.

“Maybe…” Masumi said, not entirely convinced.

“Well, sun’s going down, and if we’re going to go stargazing like you two promised me, we’d better get a move on so we can get some distance from the city. Mars sets early tonight, and I don’t want to miss it. Venus’ll be up early, too.” Hokuto got to his feet.

“Oh, alright,” Masumi said, and gathered up the strewn cards, putting them back. “This is going to bother me for the rest of the night…”

Once her cards were put away, she, Yaiba, and Hokuto grabbed their things and left Masumi’s house.

“Hang on - I need to lock up. Papa’s away on business tonight.” Masumi went back to the door, pulled out her key, and locked the door. She tugged on just to be certain it had locked, then put her key away. She started to turn back to her friends, but her attention was caught by something by the window.

Planter boxes sat below the windows, as usual. Though they’d lain bare for many years - since Masumi’s mother had died - no one had ever removed them. Nor planted anything in them. Yet…in that box, the last light of the sunset were shining on something.

“…A rose?” she said quietly to herself. She felt…drawn by it. As though it held the answers…to everything, everything that felt wrong. It was silly, it was just a wild flower that had taken root in the remaining dirt. Nevertheless, she found herself walking over to it, and slowly reaching out her hand to touch the petals.

“Masumi? Is something wrong?”

“I…don’t know…” she said, to herself more than anyone, still staring at the flower. She lightly touched her fingertips to the petals, and ran them along the flower, careful to keep her hand away from the thorns.

“Is this…what’s missing?”

“What do you mean? You’ve never run a plant deck…”

“No…” And yet…she felt certain that somehow, what was missing - it was a rose. Another rose…another sunset…a girl that shone brighter than the most polished stone…

_What is this feeling…?_

The last bit of light disappeared from the tip of the rose, and Masumi withdrew her hand, the moment gone.

“Come on, Masumi!” Hokuto said, annoyed. She turned away from the flower, back to her friends.

“Sorry! I’m coming!”


	2. Zarcray: First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time, Zarc meets someone who can hear monster spirits, like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally [wrote this](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/158379510918/man-i-suck-at-writing-romance-but-hey-heres-a) for Zarcray week 2017.

Zarc kicked at the trash littering the alley, restless and frustrated. His opponent hadn’t shown up for their duel earlier, and the win had been automatically granted to him. How unfulfilling! The crowd had been so disappointed. The worst part was that this was only the latest in a recently emerging pattern. Far too many would forfeit the match before it even began, and Zarc couldn’t even remember the last tournament where it hadn’t happened at least once.

_They’re scared of you._

He knew that.

_Humans…they love watching us, and even each other, get torn apart, but as soon as one finds itself in the path of the blade, it runs away like a rabbit._

“Not all of them,” he reminded the dragon. “If that were true, then no one would ever challenge us – plenty do. I can feel their fear, but the desire to prove themselves is more important than that. Or to win money, or any number of various things.”

_I suppose you would understand humans better than us, being one, after all_.

_I don’t understand why you bother trying to please them – they’re wretched creatures, they care nothing for the suffering they cause us…_

“If they could only hear you,” Zarc said. “That would change. They’d be like me, and want to make everyone happy…”

The dragons snorted. They didn’t believe him; they never did have the faith that he did. But none of them said anything further on the subject. Zarc knew that they believed that he would come around to their point of view. Sometimes when the conflicting desires of countless others tore at him, he got close to it. But still, stubbornly, he held on to the idea that somehow there was a way to please everyone, and he would find it.

Zarc glanced up at the quickly darkening sky, and figured that he’d better start heading home. He’d have another duel tomorrow – well, as long as that opponent didn’t disappear as well…putting aside that thought, he walked on. He reluctantly ventured out into the main streets, where people still walked. It wasn’t something he was fond of doing – it was one thing being surrounded by a huge crowd when they all wanted the same thing, they all wanted an exciting duel. The emotions didn’t conflict, and it was easy to make everyone happy. But when there were lots of people who felt and wanted different things, it got overwhelming, it made Zarc feel helpless, like maybe the dragons were right…

Fortunately, since he’d become such a well-known duelist, people took to avoiding him, frightened of his ferocious fighting style. That suited him just fine; it was easier to shut it out the further they stayed away.

But to Zarc’s dismay, tonight, someone was approaching him…actively _seeking_ him. That always alarmed him, but this time it confused him, as well. Usually someone seeking him out was seeking him for revenge – they or a friend or a family member having suffered a brutal defeat at Zarc’s hands – but this person…he felt none of that. Perhaps his senses were clouded by the presence of the passerby, but in a rare moment, he couldn’t make sense of what he felt the other person feeling. Just what did they want?

“Hello…Zarc, right?”

A girl, about his own age. A duelist, too, given the disk on her arm. Zarc hesitated – she was definitely after a duel, but there had to be something behind it.

“Who are you? Can I help you?” Zarc asked cautiously. The girl seemed vaguely familiar – perhaps he had dueled her before?

_She’s that coward that we were supposed to duel today_.

_Oh._ That was right, that was the girl he was supposed to duel. Zarc started to feel a bit annoyed. How did she have the gall to show up in front of him now, when she had disappointed the crowd earlier?

“I’m not a coward!” the girl said indignantly, and a bit too loudly. Then, immediately an embarrassed expression crossed her face, “I…uh, I mean…I…just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Zarc was stunned. Had she…had she really just responded to…No, that was impossible. Only he was able to hear the monsters…

But he knew well that feeling he felt emanating from her at this moment. He had felt it many times himself, that mixture of embarrassment and fear that came whenever someone caught him talking to the spirits. That feeling when he knew that onlookers thought him a weirdo talking to himself, that feeling when you knew they were going to start avoiding you or calling you names…

“You…can hear them? You can talk to them too? The monsters, I mean?” Zarc blurted out, his voice become rushed and eager, the pitch rising as he spoke. The thought that someone else, someone else could hear them too – it was too good to be true. It was the first step towards his dream…

“YOU can?” she asked, equally astonished. Zarc could feel the dragons’ surprise as well – they had only ever known Zarc himself to be able to communicate with them. This was certainly a very curious development. “I…I’ve never met anyone else who can…I guess that explains why you’re such a talented duelist, you can bond with your monsters like no one else. I…can’t believe it…people usually just think I’m being odd…or crazy, at worst. I usually try to keep quiet about it…”

“Me…me too. But people avoid me anyway now, so it doesn’t matter so much…” She really was…there really were others like him out there, people who could hear the monsters, understand their pain…

_But if you’re not a coward, why did you avoid facing us earlier? What, if not for the fear and cowardice so common to you humans…_

_Don’t be rude_ , admonished one of the girl’s monsters, appearing at her side. _It wasn’t her choice_.

“I wanted to face you! I really did! But my father wouldn’t allow it. With how you duel – he was afraid of me getting hurt, so he prevented me from going. But he can’t stop me forever – even if I can’t continue in the tournament, I want to face you right now. Duel me, and we’ll determine what would have happened this morning!” the girl said, recovering from her shock, and returning with a determined challenge. Zarc felt her unwavering spirit, and he smiled.

This would be fun.

.

.

.

Zarc was slightly surprised that Ray hadn’t left after their duel. Perhaps it was because she shared the curiosity, the excitement – no, exhilaration – at finally finding someone else who could communicate with the monster spirits. That much he could feel from her, that much he understood. He wondered if she, like him, could sense the feelings of others. Would he be able to feel her feeling the feelings of others, and vice versa, in a feedback loop? God, he hoped not – that would be terrible.

But at least for now, they were alone (except for the spirits, of course, and come to think of he wasn’t feeling their feelings through Ray…or at least he didn’t think so. It was hard to be sure). Ray herself had requested it, which first prompted him to wonder if she was like him in that respect, as well. But, she had revealed, it turned out that she was afraid that if they had an audience, her father would find out. She wasn’t supposed to be dueling him. So Zarc had brought her to his home. It was a bit odd, really, to have someone else there. And a bit odd to duel without an audience – he missed being able to light up the whole crowd. Yet, at the same time, being able to please just her brought him just as much joy…it was nice not having any other desires conflicting, even the monsters had been more curious to see her play against them than anything else.

“You played a lot differently against me than you do in the stadium. You weren’t violent at all…” Ray said. Zarc was confused.

“You didn’t want me to be,” he said. “You were my only audience, so I only had to consider what you wanted…”

“How do you know what I wanted?” Ray asked. She didn’t seem perturbed by the idea, but Zarc could tell that she didn’t quite believe that he did know what she wanted.

“So…you don’t feel others’ emotions, like me?”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah…the spirits, humans. Anyone.”

“Oh…no, I can’t do that…well…I guess if someone’s feeling really strongly about something, I can. And I’m pretty good at guessing how someone’s feeling, now that you mention it. So maybe I can. Huh…”

“It must not be as strongly as me, though. You’d know. It gets overwhelming at times. Especially when everyone is feeling differently.” He paused. If this was the case, then Ray might not understand the monsters’ feelings as well. Did she know… “Ray, can you…can you feel their pain? At all?”

“Pain…whose pain? You mean…the monsters?” Ray asked. Her evident surprise made Zarc’s heart sink. So she didn’t, after all. But…if she figured it out that quickly, maybe there was hope…and she was becoming very concerned now…

“Are you really in pain?” she asked towards the spirits. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

_We…didn’t wish to burden you with that knowledge._

“Why not? If I had known you were in pain, I would have done something…!”

_No, we could not ask that of you._

“What do you mean? Is there something we can actually do to stop this?” Zarc interjected. He could feel his dragons’ surprise – they didn’t know what was causing their pain.

“Yes, tell us! Please, if there’s a way to help you…”

_I…we’ve never mentioned this before, because…_ the spirit glanced around at the others, then sighed. _Because it’s Real Solid Vision that does this to us._

Ray was silent, Zarc could feel conflicting emotions coming from her. He frowned. Why was she so hesitant? Surely she felt the same about protecting the monster spirits that had served her so loyally?

“Then let’s destroy it! There were duels before it, right? It’s not like we’ll take anything away from anyone, and everyone will be able to be happy…”

_I’m sorry, Mistress…we never wanted to put you in a situation where you had to choose between us and your father…_

“Your father?” Zarc asked sharply.

“My father…is Akaba Leo. He’s the one who perfected Real Solid Vision…if he had to give that up, his life’s work…” Ray said quietly.

_So he’s the one we should hate?_

_Let’s destroy him…for doing this to us, there should be no mercy._

The other two dragons roared in agreement.

“No!” Ray said, alarmed. “You can’t…he’s my father…”

_But he’s the one who has inflicted this suffering on us…without a thought, without a damn for what he’s done!_

“Guys…I understand your feelings. But we should understand Ray’s as well…” Zarc said, hoping he could calm everyone down – the intense emotions were tearing at him, guilt from Ray’s monsters, anger and hatred from his own, and Ray’s own sorrow and conflicted loyalties. He wanted, he needed it all to stop…

_Why should we?_ they roared, furious, and oblivious to Zarc’s distress. _You’ve only just met this girl, she’s nothing. And she’s just as guilty as he if she refuses to stand against him._

Ray looked down at her feet.

“No, guys…please…she’s the only other person who can even hear you! She can help…!” Zarc said desperately, just wishing that it would stop, that there was something to stop the whirlwind of emotions crushing him, that everyone could just be happy again like right after their duel…

The dragons roared again, and advanced towards Ray. Her monster spirits crowded around in front of her, trying to shield her from their anger.

_Why are you defending her when you’ve known all this time…?_

_Because she…_

“I’ll help. I promise,” Ray said. “I…can’t destroy my father’s work, but I can…talk to him. I can try and convince him to…change it, or do something. Something that won’t put you in pain anymore. It’ll be hard, because he doesn’t…really believe in you, but I know we can find a way.”

To Zarc’s relief, the dragons calmed a bit, but he could still feel their anger, and distrustfulness of Ray.

“See, I told you she can help,” Zarc said. He turned to Ray. “Got a plan?”

“Well, not exactly,” she said, sheepishly smiling at him.

“We’ll think of one together, then!” he said. This was great…they’d definitely be able to come up with something. With Ray, he would be able to please everyone, make everyone happy again.

There was no way they wouldn’t.


	3. Entertainmentshipping: Applause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dennis is given a chance for redemption, and Yuuya convinces him to take it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I originally wrote this](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/162782357373/this-ones-pretty-short-so-im-not-going-to) for Arc V Rare Pair Week 2017, based on episode 144 (where Yuuya duels against Dennis in Heartland).

Dennis had dueled many times in his…career. Win or lose, it didn’t matter as long as it was all part of the act. It was the part he took the most pleasure in, the role of entertainer.

And yet.

He always knew that the role he had to play was the villain.

That was what he was, underneath. The entertainer act was a con. A trick. He couldn’t truly enjoy it, he always had to have a dispassionate internal response towards the audience that he duped. And so every duel left him restless and unsatisfied. Every ring of applause felt hollow. But that was fine. All that mattered was the act.

Until Yuuya tore that all down.

Tore apart the real act, the one Dennis played on himself. Showed him that the entertainer act wasn’t the con, the villain act was.

Yuuya was too good for him.

That didn’t stop Dennis from falling in love all the same. How could he not? Dennis had betrayed Yuuya; Yuuya had forgiven him. No, he’d gone further than that. He’d seen past everything and torn past every defense to pull Dennis out of that misery. He’d reached out to help Dennis when Dennis refused every offer. Yuuya had saved Dennis and gave him the chance of redemption.

And on top of all of that…he’d somehow convinced Dennis that he deserved that chance.

He still wasn’t convinced he deserved Yuuya, though.

No…he knew he didn’t.

But, as their duel concluded, as Yuuya smiled at him, as sparkles rained down from the sky…the audience, surrounding them in the ruins, clapped.

And for the first time, it didn’t ring hollow.


	4. Singleshipping: Sensitive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoko and Shuzo deal with the aftermath, trying to look after Yuuya and Yuzu as best they can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I originally wrote this](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/162820938378/singleshipping-for-arc-v-rare-pair-day-2-prompt%22) for Arc V Rare Pair Week 2017, in a post-canon setting where Yuuya and Yuzu struggle to cope with having multiple people in their heads.

Some things were best not said.

Sometimes it was better to pretend that everything was fine.

Yoko was good at that. And for a while, she’d even believed it. After all, everything had been made right, hadn’t it? Yuuya, Yuzu, Sora, and all the others had returned home. And even Yusho, her beloved husband – he had returned too, after his disappearance so long ago.

But things weren’t fine. That had become apparent to her as time went on. And just because things were unspoken, didn’t mean they weren’t real.

Like the way the children had changed. Like her feelings for Shuzo.

She’d thought those would be easier to dismiss now that Yusho was back. But while she loved Yusho still, and knew he loved her as much, there was a distance there now. Yuuya’s situation made things worse – Yusho insisted everything was fine, that things were the way they were supposed to be, Yuuya was just adjusting/being a teenager. Excuses that Yoko herself had come up with when the issues first manifested. But it was only getting worse.

Shuzo, on the other hand, understood, because Yuzu was going through the same thing. And so it was to Shuzo that Yoko found herself going to after increasingly frequent bad days. Not for anything untoward, of course – Yoko was a faithful woman. No matter how bad things got, she would not, could not turn her back on Yusho.

“How are things?” she asked.

“It’s been a long day,” Shuzo answered, not looking up from the sink where he was washing dishes. Which meant that Yuzu too had had an incident.

“Same here. Want help?”

Shuzo gratefully accepted and stepped to the side to allow her room to work beside him.

“School called. Said that they might have to hold her back because of how much school she’s missed. Said even if she’s going to my Duel School, they’re going to insist upon her dropping it to focus on her studies. ‘Rules are rules’, they said, ‘and her performance has fallen below the minimum for extracurriculars.’”

Yoko squeezed his shoulder. She hadn’t gotten such a call about Yuuya. Not yet, anyway. But she understood.

“It’ll be okay – you know Yuzu won’t follow that stupid rule, anyway. She’d never give up on You Show.”

“No, she wouldn’t…but if _she’s_ not the one making the decision…sometimes I don’t know.”

Yoko knew he wasn’t talking about the school. She nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

“You need to trust her. I trust Yuuya. They’re strong kids; they’ll fight for what they believe in.” She still believed that. If anyone could find a way out, it was those two. Even so, her words felt hollow even to her.

“I know,” Shuzo said, “but I worry…whatever they have…it’s not working. It’s like she’s…” he trailed off, but Yoko knew full well what was unsaid.

_It’s like she’s shattering inside. Falling apart. Losing herself to the others._

_Just like Yuuya._

“And what about us?” Shuzo continued. “Even if she and Yuuya make it out, what about us? Will we make it? Seeing her like this…seeing him like this…”

“We will,” Yoko said firmly. She turned to him and looked him in the eyes. “I know how strong you are.”

“Strong? Strong enough to lose my entire…” _strong enough to lose my entire world?_

“I’ll carry whatever burden you need,” Yoko promised. “And we’ll make it together.”

“Yoko…”

Screaming tore through the moment.

“STOP IT. STOP! IT! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU ALL WANT DIFFERENT THINGS I CAN’T GIVE IT TO YOU I JUST WANT TO BE FREE I JUST WANT TO LIVE I JUST…!”

Yoko saw the pain in Shuzo’s eyes, Yuzu’s screams all too familiar. She took his hands and squeezed them lightly.

“We’ll go to her.”


	5. Astroshipping: Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selena's nightmares are haunted by the boy she killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I originally wrote this](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/162897833388/astroshipping-for-arc-v-rarepair-day-4-prompt) for Arc V Rarepair Week 2017.

Carding was such a clean form of murder.

No blood. No twisted and broken limbs. No mangled, unrecognizable forms. No moans from the dying. No stench of death and feces and vomit and gunpowder…

Selena’s nightmares had to be much more creative.

_She climbed familiar steps – Academia’s observatory was one of her few places of comfort in that suffocating prison. There was something about watching the night sky that gave her the illusion of freedom, the dream of escape into the vast world out there. The moon especially had always resonated with her._

_Usually Selena got the observatory to herself, but as she climbed into it, she was surprised to see that someone else was there._

_“Who’s there?” she demanded, perhaps a little annoyed at the intrusion. It wasn’t_ her _space, technically, but…well, she was used to being alone there, she had come to think of it as her space._

_He turned to her, looking equally as annoyed at her intrusion as she was with his presence there._

_“Shijima Hokuto. And you are?” in a tone that irritated Selena further. But then she noticed his strange outfit – strange, in that it was clearly not an Academia uniform._

_“H…hey, you’re not from Academia!” Hope rose in her chest – she had failed once before, but maybe this time…_

_“Got a problem? My parents are the premier astronomers in the area – I’m allowed in any observatory I want.”_

_Selena didn’t even_ care _about his tone at this point – she could deal with full of himself as long as he could get her out of here._

_“No, I mean, how did you get here? You can get me out of here…”_

_She took a step forward, then stopped suddenly as hard stone gave way to softer ground. In confusion, she looked down. She was standing in grass…but that was impossible, the observatory didn’t have grass. She looked up again, finding that it was not only the ground that had been changed._

_She was not in the observatory. She was not even in Academia. She was standing on top of a hill, with not even the distant lights of a city in sight – only the clear night sky._

_“How…did you…?”_

_But Hokuto was not listening, he had already turned his attention to the sky. She cautiously approached him, wondering if he was even aware of what had happened._

_“Sometimes it’s nice to look at the sky the way people in ancient times did. No telescopes, just our eyes,” he said. His tone was much less arrogant now as he offered to share the experience with her. Confused at the sudden shift, Selena only nodded._

_“Think of it – all the things they saw in the stars. They couldn’t have known what they really were, so their imaginations went wild,” he continued. Selena thought perhaps hers was the imagination running wild…hallucinating from being locked up so long? Could that happen?_

_“They saw things in the moon, too – all the things they tied it to, all the stories they came up with,” Selena offered._

_“If we didn’t know what they really were, what would we come up with?”_

_“I don’t know if we could really know that…I mean, the truth is extraordinary as it is, when you think about it.”_

_“The truth is extraordinary,” Hokuto agreed. “But if I imagined it,” he gestured out to the sky, “I’d say the sky was the form of a god, with the sun as its eye. Constantly attacked until it died every night, each star a wound, and the moon the most gaping one. And then reborn in the morning.”_

_“I would say that the stars were prisoners of the sun, and the moon one which keeps escaping as it waxes and is captured as it wanes,” Selena answered. She studied the face of her companion. The night sky meant something different to each of them, but he too took solace from it as she did._

_“Who knows? Perhaps people in the past have had these same thoughts…” he said._

_Somehow the location had changed again without Selena noticing. The sky was no longer visible, as buildings stretched up in a dark alleyway._

_“Shouldn’t you be going back? It’s late,” Hokuto said. Selena was torn from her confusion at the environment change and rounded on him._

_“What? Of course I’m not going back! I’m_ NEVER _going back there.”_

_Her duel disk flashed, and at that moment she felt chains curling around her, dragging her backwards. She watched as Hokuto vanished, replaced by a card floating through the air. And the chains were pulling her, pulling her as she struggled, into a card of her own – spiraling around just like him. She tried to scream,_ no, no, she wanted – she needed to be free…

Selena thrashed, a scream building in her throat before she oriented herself. This was not Academia. This was not a hill, this was not an alleyway, this was not a card. This was a comfortable room in the Synchro dimension. One that was certain to be full of cameras, at that.

She curled back in on herself, feeling the sweat roll down her back. She clenched her fists, not daring to cry in front of those cameras, and tried to fall back asleep.


	6. Brashshipping: Wartime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selena and Shingo discuss hiding weakness from the enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I originally wrote this](https://peppermint-shamrock.tumblr.com/post/162976722863/another-short-one-brashshipping-for-arc-v) for Arc V Rare Pair Week 2017. And with this, I've got all my ficlets as of now published.

“You would make a fine warrior, given proper training.”

Shingo turned in surprise. Was that a compliment? From Selena?

“You understand the importance of not showing any weakness to the enemy,” she continued. “You won’t back down from a fight, either.”

“I don’t know so much about ‘not showing any weakness’…it’s more…I’ve just always had to impress everyone, you know? Prove myself. Otherwise, they’ll just…you know, it’s odd. You’re the only person I’ve never felt like I had to impress. Even Yuuya…”

“It’s the same thing, impressing people, proving yourself, not showing weakness. You’ve just never had to use that in a war before. Now you do.”

Shingo didn’t know what to make of that.

“And as for me…I think it’s because it’s the same for me. I, too, have always had to prove myself. Hide my weakness. The reasons, the situation is different, but we’re the same.”

Shingo only nodded. He was surprised by Selena being open like this, but then, he supposed he was more open with her than with others, too.

“It does need refining, though. Your way. You go overboard with the bravado. In doing so, you may reveal things you didn’t intend to the enemy.”

Shingo thought back to earlier, when they had been surrounded by security. It was true, he’d boasted about Action Cards and security had figured out how to use them. He didn’t know how to stop himself when he got into it, though…

“And many will see bravado as weakness, making it pointless as a way to disguise your weaknesses. It was fine in your comfortable life, but you’re in a war now. You’re in my hell. You’ll learn pretty quickly…or you’ll die.”

Shingo gulped a little at her ominous speech, but he supposed she was right. And in a weird way, this was how she showed she cared, right? If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t bother warning him.

“There really doesn’t appear to be any sign of Yuzu,” Selena said. “It’s useless. We’re better off just returning to Yuuya and Reira.”

“We’ll look again tomorrow,” Shingo offered. Selena nodded.

“Right.”

It was so odd, he thought again, that he didn’t feel the need to impress her. But what was even more odd, was that he was starting to think, that maybe in not trying to impress her, that somehow…

…he had.


End file.
